Ransom Myers, R.I.P.

The widely published and outspoken marine biologist, Ransom Myers, died last week at age 54. Perhaps best known for a 2003 analysis of catch records showing that populations of big fish like sharks, marlin and swordfish had dropped by 90 percent in the last half-century, Dr. Myers published right up til the end, with his last paper appearing in the journal Science on March 30, 2007 -- the day before he died. In 2003, he told Science Daily:

We are in massive denial and continue to bicker over the last shrinking numbers of survivors, employing satellites and sensors to catch the last fish left. We have to understand how close to extinction some of these populations really are. And we must act now, before they have reached the point of no return. I want there to be hammerhead sharks and bluefin tuna around when my five-year-old son grows up. If present fishing levels persist, these great fish will go the way of the dinosaurs.